George Duffy

George's Blog

To Take a Tour or Not

I have spent the majority of my career in tourism selling tours and here’s what I’ve found: most people like tours, once they try them.

A “tour” is simply an event that pre-planned and organised with prepaid elements where the participant(s) move around and see or other wise experience a destination. There are group tours and individual tours; there are guided tours and non-guided tours.

Most people today seem to prefer less structured tours and with fewer other people on the tour, if any. There a some really great small group tours put there, but you can also tour quite easily with private guide now days.

Private Tours

This is a very satisfying way to travel because you can get a private local guide and driver and they know everything. They are your translators, your travel companions, your sources for information about all the things you see as you travel and can’t quite figure out. They get you into their own favourite places and let you have quite an authentic taste of local life. One example.

In Ecuador, on our way to Casa Mojanda, Jorge our driver guide stopped at some little village or town, and took us to his favourite bakery. He told us this town specializes in “bizchochos”. The town was all about pastries, and generally about pastries for occasions. Of course we stopped and tried them. Deliciosa! They were kind of flaky, buttery, less sweet and more salty than a danish. We bought a bag of them.

A few days later, All Soul’s Day, (or day of the dead, “dia del muerte”) we saw very special baked items called Guaguas de pan. (The photo.)

This made the connection back to the little town that makes the pastries and reminded us off the espresso and “bizcocho” stop.

The cost of fully private guided tours can be high if you plan a long tour. But every destination is different and you might be surprised at how they match up against similar quality brand name group tours.

You can organise a reasonable tour by hiring a driver to shuttle you from lodge to lodge or place to place. You can get day guides for local touring and onsite exploring. If you are looking to lower costs and still a good experience this is a good option.

The least expensive, most independent option is to make use of public shuttles, trains or buses that operate between locations and you pick up guides as you need them. These work well where there is good tourism infrastructure such as in the UK or Europe. We call these FIT or fully independent tours. Still preplanned and partially prepaid. It's a good option.

Pitfalls

Where you can run into problems is when you knowingly or inadvertently use unreliable services. So you need to know if the services are licensed, insured, and basically following all the correct procedures that you'd expect. You'd expect that the cab driver who takes you on a tour for example is trained, licensed and does carry insurance but don't expect to get a necessarily "true" answer if you're talking with the guy through the car window. Don't waste your time or money. Be smart.

Group Tours Have Different Benefits

On the other side, there are guided group tours. This is what most people think of when they hear the word “tour”. Tour companies will say that you save money by sharing the cost of the vehicle, the driver, the guide and sometimes the accommodation. For me, that's not the biggest reason I would opt for a guided group tour. I would travel with a group for the social dimension.

There is a certain group spirit that develops when you experience something together. You often make really good friends and sometimes make new travel companions for future tours. The guide, or tour director, keeps everyone on schedule and they do make very good use of your time. Generally, group tours allow you to be more gregarious and social.

It’s really up to you and your personal preferences. Let me know if you'd like to plan a private tour or look at some group tours.

Name:
George Duffy

Location:
Medicine Hat, Alberta

Contact Number: Toll Free 1 888 543 6450

Alternate Number:
778 383 6369

Email:
george.duffy@fcitravel.ca

About George:

Ever see the show Midnight Diner on Netflix? A small shop in Tokyo where the chef says "I will make anything you want to eat as long as I have the ingredients". That's exactly what I do for you in travel.